Rotating vane parachute



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george /lCr @M ,Wa mw May 30, 1950 G. W. CRISEl f 2,509,481

ROTATING VANE PARACHUTE Filed May 18, 1945 l 2 sneet-sheetvz ""illllmin" ll l llll Y rwo/wbnw Geoy WEI-Se Patented May 30, 1950 563,481 o 1to1-Arme vous g maneuvers Geeriiow Coloc, Gewinn-ie `Silvio i Application May 18, 194,5;11'Seria1A No; 594,496 v (iA Claims. (Glggflmlll i This; inventionU neiates1 ,1 v aeronautioal; descent anparatus,L having;p,:a ri ;ioular` reference to devices employedfinvproiiidlnegior, the Soedescentrof per-` eonSfonzobiectsfdropped through space from airt planes orthelike.

The ordinary` umbrella-type paraehute now employed in this capacity, is` objectionable: in `cer-f tanlrespects: "1st, When it op4ens,\the person supported` thereby vis lSubj ected to a jerking action; 2nd.` 'Iheuser` thereof: `is `apt to be injured by strikingthe ground W-ithiatoo rapid descending motion: `SILittleTonno controlis providedoin the steering orrrnaneuvering'oi =the`pa1=achute to land` in a desiredl location; 4th, It cannot `be safely useciin makin'goescentg ofrcomparatively low altitude; 5th. Inthe event a certain amount of wind is blowinggfthe paraohute is apt to drag its (.aoeupantllr along` the ground after landingi 6th.lFroin a military stanginoint, the ordinary parachute is nighlyvisible angipmalges a goed target;

Therefore, it isan outstanding object of rny invention to provide a parachute Wiieijein the ordi-` nary` eiible andfabri 4canopy is eliminate@` and,y in lieu tl'xerewof;y revolving v anes or wings are sub: stituted Wnichoperatesfon the rotor Qrincipie to provisie f or an ii'nprovd and controlrledjciesoent of the paraehute;

oihe obieoio of ine invention ere. io eroi/ide o. foioiino vene ooroonoie onion` ener dosoeni noo, been initiated goed, .ily oneoioii sneed so inni ine oooononi. there i noi onoieotod iofieiline ioroes; 'o noroenuiew n deooondo tenido' ond, 11909 red-chil? 'hil mity fr me gililild P170: video enionioiiooliyrion Sie en rotolo! deooeni io avoid iniiny io ine ooooooni; noroenoie whion may ne eteereoidonno deooeni iooreoo n: noie` degree io provi ne ooonnoni niinfioiiiiide in Solemne ine lendingl one; onorooniiie onion ie practiqally invisilolfeduringl descent eroine which offers. o noo'r target when n employed 1nini1iioi oopooiiieo: and, nnolin e` noroonoi Wnion will not dine iheiilsen olone nonearound o v The nrinoinie on ooioonoie is Vwell known inooienoe ine iiiiine eiieoiof iis. ioioiino Yenes or bindende oono ined? in inni Aii io onen oeooe io` ouioono `oonSinioiion i when ine nnen of the blades Lproduces rotation by a screwlike 2" n n fon oneeloineftne sneed off descent on ino peine oliliio= v a `further understanding ot the invention. reference is io loe; nod; to ine. following descrip: new ond the aeoomoonyina drawing, whereinrl Figure luis, a side ,elevational i ew-of my im: moverianoraohute when, its rotating vanos or blades n are inaotivelyl positioned:

Eieis. o vertical; oeo'oional `view token through one noioohnie *Wiihl one-vanosi` or lolo-deo in their extended or` active positie Y liie. 3 is aiveriiool seoiional view on. the, line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig il-is aiooplan tiene "Figi-f `5.is on enlarged tornooiseoiional View toten einteilen the uopennortion of the paren chute; i l Eig. @is 'i-transverse rentioolSectional-vienen 29 nieu .rinonial sectional. View on ine line lit-:1; of -E-ie, 2l-

;Y Azioo, tnnougnfihe o Refer-rinernone particularly to" the drawings, my improved aeniol- .descenty device; which may loe interred-to `henein anaraonnie, comprises o. tubulaneolumn on fname lfoornnoeed preferably of `aaligifitweignt-` metal.rv Alljaeent to its lower end,` the fname ioennneed: diometrioallr and is formed; wiinleieroiir projecting occupant-.esente ing .ente,neionsY At o upper endfthe Column l on inonde is ionnedf rain-a `coller 3; oonoiiiutine Seot'ior` ontiiriotion bearings: ik Rotoioblr eurroun rngithhecolumn i and engaging with the Y iframe is. ooeeondoleene- 6, which eer-ries robot:

os oi` ine loifookei anni Provided on ine inner ondoofo noir, of roiaoieblewines or loledes. lil loiienmay Swingin a vertical; planefabout the horizontal; ox inem ineirrfolded and up,- rigniiinoue 'renne ions assnonninlilie. Lto their .igorizontally extended nsu,i;` disicioseg inn-Fig. 2 5. ,sofa the stuis 'L the geen blades morne .dined about oxesper: nondioliion ioA ine exea @whereby veiyinevihe Piionor lift o finerwines .or blades. i The Alionel Sleeiie io-:orovidedfwiihl laterally direoied. .ears lbwhionor oiroioilyunited as` at l2 inline-ine @inner ends; oionoin-ofiodo. ii The e attira gea geen lower ends of these rods are pivotally imitecifasat iiifwiiliiroenei eleioenielfwnienare fno. nie@ in binde-Carriedbinomio Hi rior turning movement Y about oneonennondionlon tothepivotaraxesotor vided at I4. By this arrangement, the wings or blades are mechanically united with the upper sleeve 5 in all positions of pitch adjustment.

Slidably mounted on the lower sleeve 6 is a ring I1, and a coil spring I8 is situated between the upper surface of the ring II and the lower shouldered surface I9 of the sleeve 5. The outer ends of the studs 'I are formed with laterally directed crank arms 29, and the outer ends of these crank arms are pivotally connected as at 2| with the lower ends of links shown at 22, the upper ends of these links being pivotally united as at; .f

23 with the ring I'|.

The lower sleeve 6 has pivoted thereto as at 24 to said weight. Above the weight, the cable 50 passes over the outer end 5| of a detent 52, the latter being pivoted as at 53 in the column or frame I and formed intermediately of its length with a finger 54 which is positioned in a notch 55 provided in one of the side walls of a cable reel 56 and to which reel the other end of the cable is attached after the cable has been wound thereabout.

The reel 56 is carried by a transversely journaled shaft 51 which has Xed thereto a pinion 458, the latter meshing with the teeth of an escapement wheel 59 which is rotatably supported by a shaft 60. The wheel 59 is notched as at 6I ed thereto as at 26 a link 21, the upper end of this f link being pivotally united as at 28 with the ring I1, the link adjacent to this pivotal connection being formed with a latching shoulder 29. Pivotally mounted as at 39 on the upper end of the arm is a latch 3| which, when the wings or vanes are in their lowered active positions, is disposed in contact with the shoulder 29. The vlatch when so positioned has its linger, shown at 32, disposed in the path of movement of a spring actuated movable arm 33. Intermediately of its length, the arm 33 is pivotally united, as at 35, with an ear 33 projecting from the upper sleeve 5. The horizontal portion of the arm 33 is in pivotal engagement with the upper end of a vertically movable rod 37 mounted axially in the column or frame I.

With the blades or vanes positioned inactively, as in Fig. 1, the upper ends thereof are united by means of interfitting apertured lugs 38, the lugs being secured together by a removable pin 39 which passes through the apertures thereof. This pin is connected with one end of a release cord or Y line 4|), the opposite end of the latter being secured to the airplane body in which the parachute is loaded, or may be actuated by the occupant. An expansion spring 4| is so positioned with re` spect to the blades that its normal tendency is to force the wings or blades apart. Uponinitial descent of the parachute, and when the line 49 becomes taut, the pin 39 is removed from engagement with the lugs 38, and the spring supplies an initiating force for separating the wings or blades and causing the same to oscillate downwardly and outwardly about the axes provided at 8 in pitch relation. Thereafter, through wind action, the same are caused to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the column or frame I. Such rotation through centrifugal action results in the elevation of the lower sleeve 6 so that when the wings or blades approach their position of rotation, the sleeve 6 will occupy a position uncovering a slot 42 formed in the column or frame I. Pivotally mounted as at 43 in this slot is a pawl 44 and to the downwardly extending arm of this pawl there is connected a cord 45 which leads to a door 46 pivoted as at 4l on the bottom of the column or frame I, the door normally closing a compartment 48 provided in the enlarged lower end of said column. When the horizontal portion of the pawl 44 is in contact with the inner wall of the sleeve 6, the pawl is oscillated to maintain the door 4S in its closed position, but when the sleeve 6 is elevated, as in Fig. 2, the pawl is rocked to assume a position providing for the opening of the door 46.

Supported on the door 46 and arranged within the compartment 48`is a weight 49 containing a coiled cable 50, one end of the cable being secured Vto receive the lower end 62 of the plunger rod 31.

A spring shown as 63 cooperates with the wheel 59 to produce rotation thereof when the finger 54 ofthe detent 52 is removed from the notch 55.

The operation of my improved parachute may be summarized as follows: With the line 40 attached to a relatively stationary part of an aircraft from which descent is to be made, the parachute with its load is dropped into space. When theline 4|) tightens, the pin 39 is removed from engagement with the lugs 3B, allowing the spring 4| to thrust the rotor blades IU apart, whereupon, the force of the air causes the negatively pitched blades to rotate. This rotation sets up centrifugal force, causing the wings or blades to swing downwardly in a wide arc, thereby compressing the spring I8 and positioning the latch 3| in engagement with the shoulder 29, holding the arm 33 against outward movement. Y

As the rotating wings or blades open, they gradually reduce the falling speed of the parachute until a predetermined rate of descent is reached. As soon as the wings or blades ID have opened, the slidable hub sleeve 6 will have risen to a point uncovering the pawl 44', which oscillates under the tension of the cord 45 to cause the opening of the door 46, thus releasing the cable weight 49. The holder falls Iuntil the cable 50 has been completely extended and becomes taut. The tightening of the cable over the end of the detent 52 causes said detent to rock and release the finger 54 thereof from the notch 55 of the reel 56. However, the reel cannot rotate as long as the weight holds the cord under tension. With the cable holder or weight hanging well below the parachute, the same strikes the ground well in advance of the parachute proper, and upon so striking, will produce slackness in the cable 50, which will free the reel 56 for rotation under the urge of the escapement wheel 59, as riven by the spring 63, until the notch 6| of said wheel indeXes with the lower end of the rod 31. This causes the rod to drop, releasing the arm 33 and causing it to swing outwardly under spring action. Such outward movement of the arm 33 results in tripping the latch 3| and releasing the toggle arms 25 and 21. This permits the spring I8 to force the ring II downwardly, and through the crank arms 29 and links 22 to vary the pitch of the blades or vanes from negative to positive status. This change in the pitch of the blades or vanes from negative to positive adds additional lift to the parachute, thereby arresting its descent speed without attention on the part of the user.

While I have illustrated and described a single preferred embodiment of my present invention', nevertheless, it will be understood that the same isi subject to considerable mechanical variation or modification without departing necessarily from the spirit of the invention orl the scope of the following claims. For example, while I have shown the parachute as being provided with a pair of rotatable vanes or blades, any other suitable number may be employed and many other similar mechanical changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art. However, I reserve the right to employ all such variations that may be said to fall fairly within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An aerial descent device comprising a central support, a plurality of relatively spaced variable pitch blades rotatable about the vertical axis of said support during descent of the carrier and by wind generated forces on said blades, there being a chamber formed in the lower end of said support, a movable closure for said chamber, means responsive to the rotation of the blades to move said closure to a position opening said chamber, ground engaging means normally held in and adapted to be dropped from said chamber upon the opening of said closure, and means actuated upon the contacting of the ground engaging means with the ground to vary the pitch adjustment of said blades.

2. An aerial descent carrier comprising a central support, `a sleeve slidably and rotatably mounted on said support, a plurality of blades having the inner ends thereof pivotally joined with said sleeve, a collar rotatable on said column above said sleeve, rods pivotally connected at their ends with said collar and with said blades, a ring rotatably surrounding said sleeve, spring means interposed between said ring and collar, latch means to hold the spring restrained, and a reel mechanism to trip the latch means.

3. An aerial descent device comprising a central support, a sleeve slidably `and rotatably mounted on said support, a plurality of relatively spaced variable pitch blades rotatably7 joined at their inner ends with said support, latch devices l normally maintaining saidblades in inactive side by side relationship, spring means interposed between said blades and operable upon release of said latch devices to force said blades apart to cause the same to assume rotating weight-sustaining positions, a reel mechanism carried by said support, a ground-engaging weight, a cable line connected at one end with said weight and at its other end with said reel mechanism, movable means normally supporting said weight in connection with said support, and a release for said movable means operative automatically upon predetermined rotational speed of said blades and sliding movement on the part of said sleeve to drop said weight from said support.

4. An aerial descent device for human beings comprising a central support, a seat structure on said support, stabilizing wings joined with said seat structure, blades rotatable about the upper end of said support, releasable latch devices normally holding said blades in folded inactive positions substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of said support, and spring means interposed between said blades and operative upon release of said latch devices to positively advance said blades toward the lowered positions of rotation with the blades extending outwardly from said support.

5. An aerial descent device for use by human beings comprising: a central support, a sleeve rotatably and slidably mounted on the upper end of said support, a ring surrounding said sleeve, a plurality of relatively spaced variable pitch blades having the inner ends thereof pivotally attached to said sleeve for turning movement about substantially horizontal axes, crank devices connected with said ring and said blades for varying the pitch of said blades, a spring for moving said ring and actuating said crank devices, latch means normally restraining said ring against movement by said spring, a reel mechanism carried by said support, a Weight, a cable line joined at one end with said weight and at its other end with said reel mechanism, movable means normally restraining said weight against movement, means operative automatically when said blades rotate at suliicient speed to produce a predetermined lifting action to actuate said movable means to drop said weight, and means operative upon engagement of the weight with the ground to release said latch means to permit said spring to move said ring to a position varying the pitch adjustment of said blades with respect to that which the blades occupy prior to the engagement of the weight with the ground.

6. In an aerial descent device for a human occupant, a load-supporting frame, a pair of relatively thin section air foil blades rotatably mounted about said frame, hinge means for folding said blades in grouped substantially vertical order, release means Ior disconnecting said holding means, means for urging said blades from their folded positions into spreaded air-engaging relation in which the blades maintain a normal air screw relationship, twisting means whereby the angles of incidence of the blades may be simultaneously changed from a normal pitch of windmill descent to positive incidence of air attack, said latter means including a spring under tension, a latch for holding said spring under tension, a weight suspended on a line which at one end is operatively connected to said latch, a secondary spring urging the release of said latch, said secondary spring being of such strength that upon releasing the tension which the weight normally eirerts upon the line will cause the secondary spring to release the latch and permit the twisting means to change the angle of attack of the rotating blades from that of normal windmill descent to one of positive attack.

GEORGE W. CRISE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the i'lle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,919,089 Breguet July 18, 1933 2,044,819 Taylor June 23, 1936 2,440,293 Stanley Apr. 27, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 379,812 Germany Aug. 29, 1923 660,793 Germany June 12, 1938 800,738 France May 11, 1936 

